COVINA – A black foster mother became the victim of an alleged hate crime when someone painted a racial slur on her pickup truck, authorities said Tuesday.

Janice Walker, 56, who lives in an unincorporated neighborhood next to Covina, discovered the N-word scrawled in orange spray paint on her truck, which was parked in her driveway on Ballentine Place on Oct. 21.

The word stretches across the entire length of the passenger side and the door is kicked in. The N-word is also written on the hood of the 1991 Toyota.

“I am really hurt and upset by this,” Walker said. “It’s hard to believe something like this would happen in our neighborhood.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Daniel Zumer is investigating the incident. Zumer is on an FBI Hate Crime Task Force.

Walker doesn’t know how long she will leave the damaged truck in her driveway.

“We are treating this as a hate crime,” Zumer said. “She was targeted because of her race.”

As a procedural matter, the FBI has opened a file on the case, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, who represents Covina, is “very concerned” over the incident and is awaiting more information from detectives, according to spokeswoman Roxane Marquez.

Zumer interviewed a number of Walker’s neighbors in the 16000 block of Ballentine Place and currently has no suspect.

The detective said Walker has a history of a conflict with a particular neighbor, who denied any involvement in the incident.

“There is not a whole lot of workable information unless you have a witness,” Zumer said. “These random acts of vandalism are very difficult to solve.”

But that’s not enough for Walker, who lives with her mother and four foster children. She is determined to find out who did this, and is hopeful someone will come forward and offer a reward.

“We are fearful for what’s next,” said Walker, who has lived in her home for 19 years. “We hope we can be left alone.”

The foster mom has cared for nearly 50 kids over the past 12 years. One of those kids, Ronue Franklin, 15, made the discovery on the truck.

“I didn’t think anyone would do that,” Franklin said. “I want them (the police) to find who did this.”

Neighbors in the quiet suburban area are saddened by the crime. They asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation.

“I was just shocked,” said a woman on the same street. “This just hurts everybody.”

The incident that happened to Walker is not uncommon. Zumer said his department sees 250 to 300 hate-crime incidents a year in Los Angeles County.

“I am no longer surprised; there is a lot of hate for people still out there,” Zumer said. “They don’t really stand in front of a person’s home and say things; they vandalize and run.”

Although the incident happened a week ago, Walker’s truck remains defaced. She keeps it parked in her driveway.

“It’s easy to wash off, (but) then it all goes away,” Walker said. “I want people to know what happened; it’s the only way to be protected.”

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